GulfNews
By Jim Wolf
ERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates moved to reassure Israel on Monday that Washington's bid to talk Iran into giving up sensitive nuclear work was worth pursuing, despite the reticence so far from Tehran.
Obama has made fresh engagement with Iran a centerpiece of his foreign policy. Israel, which sees the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran as a mortal threat, has hinted that it could resort to preemptive strikes if it deems diplomacy a dead end.
During a visit to Israel, Gates affirmed President Barack Obama's hope for an Iranian response to the American overtures in time for the U.N. General Assembly in late September.
"I think, based on the information that's available to us, that the timetable that the president has laid out still seems to be viable and does not significantly increase the risks to anybody," Gates told reporters at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak.
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Iran says its uranium enrichment, which has bomb-making potential, is for energy needs and has rejected U.S.-led calls to curb the program. That, along with fiercely anti-Israel rhetoric from Tehran, has stirred fear of a regional war.
There is also a cost in terms of Obama's efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, as Israel has demanded that the perceived threat from the Iranians be neutralized first.
Speaking after his meeting with Gates, Barak backed the U.S. diplomatic strategy on Iran but called for a tight schedule with readiness to impose tough U.N. Security Council sanctions.
"If there is an engagement, we believe it should be short in time, well-defined in objectives, followed by sanctions, preferably (United Nations Charter) Chapter 7-type of sanctions," Barak said, speaking in English.
He also kept open the possibility that Israel, which is widely assumed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, could attack the Iranians pre-emptively -- a region-rattling scenario that finds little public favor in Washington.
ALL OPTIONS OPEN
"We clearly believe that no option should be removed from the table. This is our policy. We mean it. We recommend to others to take the same position but we cannot dictate it to anyone," Barak said.
"We are not blind to the fact that our operations or activity also affect neighbors and others, and we take this into account. But ultimately our obligation is to Israel's national security interest."
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